Short-term occupations at the lakeshore: a technological reassessment of the open--air site Königsaue (Germany)

Comprehending the movements and settlement dynamics of prehistoric hunter-gatherers across a territory is important for understanding the lifestyle of archaic hominins. North-central Europe is a significant area for studying this issue because the different climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene affected the extent of ecological habitats and spread of floral and faunal species between different regions. This paper aims to contribute new data to the debate on Neanderthal mobility by exploring the lithic assemblages from levels A, B, and C of Königsaue. The results of the technological analysis document the use of the Levallois method in all three archaeological levels and the production of Keilmesser in levels A and C. Comparing the archaeological materials and Levallois experimental knapping series indicates high fragmentations of chaînes opératoires, suggesting that the anthropogenic occupations at the lakeshore were short-term. Furthermore, in levels A and C, Levallois cores were exported off-site, whereas, in level B, Levallois flakes were transported. This difference in the toolkit composition supports the hypothesis of logistical mobility during the Keilmesser occupations and residential mobility during the Levallois-Mousterian settlement.